NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 10 – Nairobi Hospital doctors have issued a seven-day strike notice demanding the immediate resignation of the entire board of directors and the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the facility.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General, Davji Atellah, in a statement on Tuesday, said the doctors and nurses will neither attend to any patients in the wards nor respond to emergencies.
The laboratories will also remain closed from December 17, and support staff—including cooks, cleaners, security personnel, porters, and morticians—will not report for duty, he said.
Atellah claimed Nairobi Hospital management has continued to harass and mistreat KMPDU members, reduce their medical cover under the guise of financial constraints, amid reports of financial mismanagement.
“We want to see if the board can once again hire hoodlums, dress them in butcher white coats as they did during the AGM on December 4, 2024, and have them attend to patients. We call upon the government to step in and stop this impending crisis,” Atellah stated.
He adds that the union has tried to engage with the management, even going to court and securing a favorable ruling, but the management disobeyed the courts, leading them to file contempt proceedings.
Atellah said the notice also serves as a warning to other private hospitals mistreating doctors.
The union has called upon all members of the Kenya Hospital Association, the Admitting Staff Association, Nairobi Hospital staff, government authorities, and the general public to rise and prevent the facility from imminent closure and collapse.
Atellah recounted “abuse” doctors and union members during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at the main hospital.
Looming nationwide strike
He accused the hospital of hiring goons who mishandled and beat up health workers.
The union official linked the violence to a plan by members to impeach the management during the AGM.
“They arrived in minibuses, labeled ‘Embassava.’ Doctors and bona fide members were taken aback and shocked to see these characters, dressed in Atellah stated.
KMPDU declared the strike notice even as a nationwide strike targetting public hospitals looms.
The union had asked its members to down tools from December 22 in solidarity with unpaid intern doctors.
Atellah has demanded a resolution to the four-month pay delay, which he stated has negatively impacted the medics.
The SG noted that they have been pushed to unprecedented corners, leading them to go on strike for the second time this year.
He further pointed out that the fraternity has lost five doctors in the past two months due to work stress, hardships, and a lack of responsive insurance cover.
“It is against the backdrop of these unfulfilled promises and impunity towards our interns by both the national and county governments that the 10th KMPDU special delegate sitting on November 30, 2024, ratified the National Advisory Council (NAC) decision for industrial action,” Atellah stated.
He emphasized that both the national and county governments have completely disregarded their agreements and failed to honor their promises.
